You wrote:
> I am trying to convince my girlfriend to do a (very relaxed,
>slow-paced)
>25 miler with me on her QH. She jokes about being too embarrassed to
>enter because her QH, while in good enough shape to finish a slow-paced
>25 mile, is short, stocky and has a bit of a gut. Does anyone out there
>have any stories about "Non-typical endurance horses" finishing a 25
>(or longer) endurance race, or would she truely be a spectacle?
>
My husband rides a dark brown (read BLACK) QH who looks more like a
QH/TB cross. Nobody is ever quite sure what he might be at a ride other
than "not an Arab". We have teasingly called him the mystery horse, or
a "Texas Warmblood". He is successfully competing in 50 mile rides
after 1 season of slow 25's & 30's, and 2 seasons of 2 day 50 -75 mile
rides. He started out looking more like a stocky QH, but he developed
different muscles working longer distances on training rides till he
looks more like a greyhound now. LOTS of trotting will cure your
friend's horse's "gut".
Major gets a few looks and occasional comments on his conformation -
it's perfectly typical for a QH, but out of the ordinary for an Arab.
I've found the QH's to have a tremendous "drive to win" just like the
Arabs. Perhaps it is their racing blood? His biggest problem is
recovery in hot weather. We can easily go through 50 measured gallons
of cool water (or more) to cool him out on a hot day at the end of 30-50
miles. He is black - a real disadvantage for cooling, and heavier
muscled than most Arabs - another strike against him. It takes more
horsemanship to do well with him than with the typical Arab.
Interestingly enough, my Polish Arab is larger and heavier boned &
muscled than Major, yet his recoveries are consistently better than the
QH's! There must be other factors coming into play that I'm not aware
of.
Encourage your friend to go! People in Lycra tights and biothane tack
have no room to criticize!
>I used to dream of owning a flashy chesnut or bright bay, perhaps even
>a
>shining black, but when my perfect horse came in a never-to-be-clean
>white... I shrugged and realized the meaning of "A good horse is never
>a
>bad color".
Boy, does that sound like us!!! When my chestnut mare died in surgery a
couple of years ago, I went looking for a new horse - a mare, any color
other than gray and around 14.3 to 15.1 H. I ended up finding the
otherwise dreamed of horse - a gray (ie pure white if he was clean) 16 H
gelding!! He is the dirtiest horse I've ever owned. If there isn't a
mud puddle for miles to roll in, he'll make one. If he can't get muddy
because of a blanket, he'll scrub grass into his mane. etc. etc. etc.
The ONLY time he's ever really clean is for a competition. DEFINITELY a
bay or chestnut next time!
Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
Chesapeake, VA
>